Sassō Ishiguro (Resanaki PC)

Sassō Ishiguro, also known as Cusho, is one of Sansei's pupils and the protagonists of the Resanaki campaign.

Before Resanaki
Sassō served as a field medic on mainland Japan during the early escalation of the  Ōnin War. He was drafted against his will to serve his daimyo and honour his family. He had previously worked in his father Kirioshi’s herbal garden and had decent knowledge in the world of herbs and their healing properties, which allowed him to serve as a field medic. This pleased him, as he much detested the cruelty of warfare. His disgust only increased as the civil war struggled on and as a result a new mindset emerged within Sassō; he was going to help as many common soldiers he possibly could, with no regard to allegiance. By the year 1471 his medical knowledge had become vast and he had managed to save the lives of numerous men fighting on either side. This year would, however, mark the end of his diligent efforts, and it was all because of a man named Jiko Shinsa. Sassō had found him bleeding out from a rather deep stab wound on the outskirts of the field on which yet another raging battle was nearing its end. Just as he had done many times before he carried the man to his tent and began tending to his wounds. Little did he know then that this man would spell the end of his career the very same night by sneaking into the tent of leading shogun Take, murdering him in his sleep before, of course, being executed himself. Sassō himself, who had been seen dragging Jiko to the camp, was given a choice between two equally harsh punishments: having to commit seppuku or to be exiled from the isles, never to return. After some deliberation Sassō decided on the latter, as he did not regret what he had done, nor did he feel any remorse for the death of his superior, whom he felt was to blame for the bloodshed in the first place.

Sassō was given some time before his exile would go into effect and he therefore reluctantly returned home to his family, scared of what they would think. To his relief they only sought to convince him that his cause was noble and that his doings were justified. His father Kirioshi then gave him a map, which he explained he had acquired during the journeys of his youth. The map depicted a far-off island named Okinawa, where his father had travelled in pursuit of exotic herbs to his, then, new herbal garden. There he met a monk, who was just as eager to trade and told him of the remote temple of Nirai Kanai, where they had an extensive herb garden, with which they made everything from remedies for ailments to antidotes for poisons. His parents then urged him to seek the temple, as they wished for him to pursue his noble cause. Sassō concurred, as he looked up to his parents, both of whom were seldom wrong.

Sassō came to Nirai Kanai a broken man. Although he had thought little of shogun Take, the notion of his death ultimately being Sassō’s fault still haunted him. As such his fighting lessons with master Sansei were tough, Sassō’s will to fight seemed ever fading. When confronted about his restraints Sassō eventually let down his guard, relaying his entire background to Master Sansei, questioning why he should learn to fight to begin with. To this Sansei gave him his motto:

"Do not dwell on it. As long as your heart is true you can set people on the right path, some people just require a solid wack first to get them on their way."

Stats
Sassō Ishiguro has a point total of 155.

Advantages and Perks
.

Combat
Because of his 9 in Strength, Sassō Ishiguro's damage defaults to 1d-2 for thrust (thr) and 1d-1 for swing (sw).